


Almost Me

by differentjasper



Category: Trolls (2016), Trolls World Tour
Genre: Action/Adventure, Bonding, F/M, Kinda?, M/M, Magic, Magic Swap AU, Metaphors, Multi, Other, Polyamory, Post-Canon, Species Swap, Trans Character, same species different forms
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-27
Updated: 2020-04-27
Packaged: 2021-03-02 04:34:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,572
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23869111
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/differentjasper/pseuds/differentjasper
Summary: Hickory loves country. He loves yodeling, it's beautiful, but he'd never felt anything like the first time he saw himself in the mirror, in costume. He loves when people look at him and think "country" first.But as much as he loves it, Dickory can't always be there. It's beginning to weigh on him.A wise old troll has given him a possible solution... but what kind of chaos could it unleash?
Relationships: Branch/Hickory (Trolls), Branch/Poppy (Trolls), Branch/Poppy/Hickory (Trolls), Branch/Prince D, Hickory & Delta Dawn, Hickory & Dickory (Trolls), Poppy & King Trollex, Poppy/Hickory (Trolls)
Comments: 13
Kudos: 108





	Almost Me

**Author's Note:**

> Hi guys!! Here's the fic for my Magic Swap AU :) You can see some of the illustrations [here](https://captainunderkrupp.tumblr.com/tagged/trolls%20magic%20swap%20au/chrono)  
> 

Hickory knew that this was probably a bad idea. He looked up at the tall, imposing mountain, and thanked his lucky stars that he didn't have to climb it.

 _Maybe with one of those Bergen folks the pop trolls keep talking about..._ he thought, his mind wandering. He shivered; it was a windy day, and his lederhosen weren't as long as his preferred jeans.

Finally, he took a deep breath, and stepped into the only cave in the side of the mountain that was decorated.

It was dark inside.

Hickory wasn't sure if he had expected that or not. And it kept getting darker the further he went in, especially since he seemed to be walking _up._ Made him wish he'd brought a light.

As he kept walking, though, and the light from outside nearly vanished altogether... a warmer light appeared.

Finally, he turned the corner and saw that it was a tasteful string of paper lamps. If he glanced inside, he could see little sleeping firebugs. More light came from few torches set in the wall. They cast light on a busy looking workshop, tools strewn almost everywhere except one empty counter.

There was a small sign that pointed to a bell, with PLEASE RING FOR WISDOM written in big block letters. It was a tad messy, but readable.

Looking around, Hickory shrugged, and did the only thing he could: he rung the bell. It seemed to echo around the cozy cave, bouncing off of the damp stone walls.

He waited, a long moment, in the dark.

"Ooohh!" came a gruff groan, and Hickory heard... cracking?

Suddenly, a troll was sitting up from behind the counter. Slowly, but surely, he came to an upright position, seemingly crackling all the way. He sounded a bit like he was full of glowsticks. His hair was fluffy and long, part of it cascading over his shoulders as much as it was piled on top of his head, and streaked with grey and white. He was very old, wrinkles so etched in to his burgundy skin that Hickory could barely see his eyes anymore as the troll opened them, yawning. Hickory would swear he could see canines as sharp as a rock troll's.

Smacking his lips and clearing his throat a few times, he finally, slowly stood up and turned to Hickory.

"Hello, young man!"

The old troll had a strong accent, somewhat like Hickory's own, but... deeper? Rougher? It reminded him of some of the classical trolls he'd run into. Possibly ones who danced with swords.

"What is your name, Mr. Gawking?"

Hickory started. He hadn't realized he was staring. "S-sorry! Uh." He fumbled, trying to pick an accent to go with. "The name is Hickory," he finally said, settling for his yodeling accent. He wasn't sure if that was the right decision, but he had gone with it.

"Ah, good, not Mr. Gawking. Nice to meet you, Hickory!" the troll said, bowing. "My name is..."

Hickory involuntary held his breath in anticipation.

"...Tom." And that was it. Hickory sighed, trying to get oxygen back in his body. Tom, as he was apparently called, turned around and started tinkering with something. "What reason have you come in today?"

This was it. "I was told you can fix... _anything,"_ Hickory breathed, voice low, as if he didn't want Tom to hear. "That you are a wise old man who had learned a lot in his time." He half-hoped the troll was going deaf; he felt remarkably embarrassed.

He had no such luck. "Yes, yes! I am wise old troll who lives in a mountain. What can I fix for you? Old wagon? Broken limb? Marriage? They are not kidding when they say I fix literally anything!" The old troll leaned on his counter, looking jolly as he grinned at Hickory.

Hickory took a deep breath to calm himself. This was it. "Can you... fix me?" he whispered. "I love country. But I am a yodeling troll."

Tom looked the younger troll over. "Hickory, no one is broken for liking different music than their parents."

Hickory huffed a laugh. "I know that. I still love yodeling, it's _beautiful._ I'm not saying I want you to take away my love for country." He paused, frowning. He had only ever really admitted this to a few people. It became obvious pretty quickly outside of that small circle, but he'd only ever _said_ the words to Dickory and Delta. He had considered saying it to Poppy and Branch, but... that was for later. "I... I don't think I'm broken for this, but... I want to be a real country troll." He glanced up to look for the inevitable reaction.

The old troll had a single eyebrow up, but he didn't say anything for a long moment. "Hmm..." he hummed, drawing it out into a short tune. Hickory almost couldn't stand it. It was just long enough for him to realize he'd slipped into a country accent while he was speaking. "What do you mean, real country troll? Because I see real country troll in front of me, if you do love country."

"I mean..." Hickory cleared his throat. It felt tight, and he blamed it on not being able to pick an accent and _stick with it._ "I know. _I know that._ I mean, I... I know this sounds strange, but... I want to _look_ like a country troll. Four legs and a tail. Horse-like. You know?"

Hickory was suddenly being inspected. With an unexpected speed, Tom had leaned over the counter and began looking him over, a jeweler's loupe suddenly over his eye.

After looking him over from head to toe, Tom finally leaned back and hummed again, considering. It was a bouncy little march now, and Tom began doing a little jump in place, slowly turning toward his crowded shelves and stacked boxes. The march music swelled as he dove into the pile, throwing random items this way and that. Hickory had to lean to the side to avoid a wrench to the face.

Finally, with an "ah-ha!" from deep within the pile, Tom finally began working his way out. He held a strange, gem-like device.

It had a smooth, rounded, yet flat surface, like a pearl, or a good throwing stone. It was inlaid with curled pieces of metal that seemed to be gold, or brass, or some other yellow metal that brought out the pearlescent colors swirling through it. Hickory could see that there was some sort of pattern to the movement, different shades of the rainbow in pastel, shifting through what he realized was nearly invisible glass and brass mechanics. As Tom turned it over and over, making small adjustments and wiping off bits of dust that Hickory couldn't see, he noticed a square panel of gears that looked like the insides of a clock, or a puzzle.

 _"This,"_ Tom said, gently setting the object on his counter, mechanics face down, "is your fix. It can turn trolls into other kind of trolls. Guaranteed, painless, easy. Very special, very powerful. Be sure to concentrate on what you want to turn into or it might pick for you."

Hickory stared at it. This... was it. This was his answer. And it sounded so _easy._ "What... what would you like for it?" He didn't carry around a lot, but he probably had _something_ he could give the old troll. He was a bounty hunter after all.

Tom laughed. "I do not need payment. Last troll who came in wanted a change gave me a chance to build it, and since she return it, I get to give out again. Maybe just bring it back if you want, so more trolls get to change."

Suddenly, the device was slid over, carefully, toward Hickory. He could barely breathe. It was finally, actually happening. And Tom was kind enough to give it to him. He was sure there was a lump in his throat.

"Thank you," he choked out, with difficulty, considering how hard he was trying not to cry. He wasn't sad; he was just so happy.

"Of course, Hickory," Tom grinned at him.

Hickory wasn't sure what else to say after that. It wasn't like he had anything else to ask for. And, while the old troll was hard to read, he was pretty sure Tom wanted to get back to his nap.

He reached for the device, gingerly picking it up after having seen how delicately Tom had moved it.

Suddenly, Tom put a weathered hand- still nimble after all these years- on Hickory's arm, making him pause. "Be careful, it is volatile. I can fix it if it is broken, but I... cannot fix the effects so easily." With that warning, he pulled his hand away.

Keeping caution in mind, Hickory carefully wrapped up the device in cotton and fabric, tucked it into his bag, and started his journey back down the foot of the mountain toward Pop Village. There was going to be a party hosted there the next morning, and he was sure he could find a few of his friends after it to tell them the good news... and change there.

He didn't particularly want to traverse the mountain alone and newly transformed, after all. That didn't seem like a good idea. He decided to use the time to say goodbye to his old body and start looking forward to something new.

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enjoyed this first chapter!! I'm not sure how long this will be yet, but I'm having fun w it ^v^  
> The sword dance I mentioned are based on Georgian sword dancing!! It's so freaking cool. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dH9176AdLFk Look up Russian Cossack dancing too, if you're interested in sword dances :D


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